Wrench



Aug. 22, 1933. c. H. LEONARD WRENCH Filed Nov. 21.' 1931 Qvmwwboa HLmm/J I i I l W w 1 I 1 7b dmm Patented Aug. 22, 1933 WRENCH Carl H. Leonard, Wayne County, Nebr.

Application November 21, 1931 Serial No. 576,585

1 Claim.

' novel means for manipulating the shiftable jaw which is adapted to be controlled by the hand grasping the wrench, thus making it possible for the user of the wrench to make any necessary adjustment of the jaws with one hand while th other hand is engaged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shiftable jaw wrench having a new and novel form of wedge operating means for the Jaw.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wrench having a novel means for securing the shiftable jaw and the actuating mechanism therefor.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specificati n, with the understanding, however, that the on is not confined to any strict conform 1 the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure lrom the salient features of the invention expressed in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of the wrench embodying the present invention Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

3 is a sectional view taken upon the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure l is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Ref ring new more particularly to the drawwh ein like numerals of reference indiespc-nding parts throughout the sevviews, the numeral 1 indicates the handle hand grip portion of the present wrench,

.3 r in which there extends obliquely the in- At the forward end of the shank 2 there is formed integral therewith the transversely extending 3 which is arranged so that the center of the handle 1 extends substantially through the transverse center thereof and, therefore, the rear edge thereof confronts the uper inclined face 4 of the shank 2. At the free end of this arm there is formed the forwardly extending fixed jaw 5.

' tending teeth 13.

The arm 3 is provided with the passage 6 which extends therethrough from the front to the rear edge and which has its upper and lower walls inclined and substantially parallel to the top surface 4 of the shank 2, the bottom wall of the recess 6 forming a continuation of the said top surface 4 of the shank.

Slidably disposed within the passage 6 through the arm 3 is a substantially triangular wedge member 7, the back of which rests upon and slides on the bottom wall of the passage while the base portion thereof is disposed toward the front of the tool, thus arranging the inclined edge 8 directed upwardly as illustrated in Figure 3, this inclined edge of the triangular wedge body constituting the cam surface of the element as will be hereinafter more fully described.

One side face of the cam element or wedge member 7 has a groove 9 formed therein which is parallel with the cam edge 8 and formed integral with the wedge element and extending from the apex thereof is the 10 which is of substantially the same length as the shank 2 and overlies the top surface 4 thereof.

Adjacent its rear end this wedge arm 10 is of increased width, as indicated at 11, and this portion has formed therein the longitudinally extending opening 12 and the portions of the body on each side of the opening have their top surfaces serrated to form the transversely ex- At the rear or free end of the widened portion 11 of the wedge arm 10 the arm is made of increased thickness to form the finger engaging button 14.

Disposed upon the top surface 4 of the shank 2, beneath the rear end of the widened portion 11 of the arm 10, is a resilient plate 15, one end of which is secured to the shank, while the other end is normally held in raised relation thereto by means of the spring element 16 placed therebeneath and arranged in a suitable recess in the shank.

The shank portion 4 also has fixed in its top face a post 17 which extends upwardly through the opening 12 and terminates in the laterally extending keeper arms 18 which overlie the serrated or toothed surfaces 13 to engage therein, the under faces of these keeper arms being suitably sharpened to form edges for engagement between the teeth.

Disposed against the forward edge of the arm 3 is a movable jaw 19 from which there extends at one side and rearwardly across one side face of the arm 3, the plate 20 which at its rear end is formed integral with the body 21 which extends transversely of the arm 3 and across the inclined or cam edge of the wedge '7 and constitutes a follower for the cam.

This jaw 19 and the parts formed integral therewith are retained in position by a plate 22 which is disposed across the opposite face of the arm 3 from the plate 20 and is secured. at its ends to the jaw 19 and to the follower 21 by screws 23 or in any other suitable manner.

The plate 20 has secured in its inner face at a point beneath the cam follower 21 the element 24 which engages in the groove 9 which is formed in the triangular wedge member 7.

This element 24 is here illustrated as being in the form of a staple so as to provide a relatively wide bearing surface for engagement in the groove 9, but it is to be understood that any suitable form of bearing element may be employed and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific structure shown.

From the foregoing description it is believed that it will be readily apparent that in the operation of the present wrench the user will grasp the handle in one hand and by engaging the thumb over the button of the wedge actuating arm 10 the shiftable jaw 19 may be moved relative to the fixed jaw 5 simply by pressing down on the arm 10 and drawing it rearwardly with the thumb. It will be readily seen that when the arm 10 is drawn rearwardly the came surface 8 of the wedge 7 will be forced to ride out of the slot 6 under the follower 21 which forms a part of the shiftable jaw and thus move the shiftable jaw toward the fixed Naturally the bearing element 24 will ride forwardly in the slot 9 and when the wedge 'l is moved forwardly again this bearing element 24 will engage the upper part of the slot 9 and the shiftable jaw will be forced to move reversely or away from the jaw 5. It will also be readily apparent that when the wedge arm 16 is released the spring 16 will operate to lift it away from the shank 2 and cause the keeper arms 18 to engage the teeth 13 and thus secure the wedge element and also the shiftable jaw in whatever position it has been moved to.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A wrenchcomprising a handle having an elongated shank, an arm forming an integral extension of said shank and disposed transversely thereof, a jaw formed integral with the free end of said arm, said arm having a passage therethrough directed longitudinally of the shank, a jaw slidably carried on the arm and having a portion disposed transversely thereof upon the side opposite the jaws and constituting a cam follower, a body slidably disposed in said and having an integral arm extending along one face of the shank, said body having one edge arranged at an oblique angle to the arm portion thereof and constituting a cam, said cam having engagement with said follower, a recess formed in the side or" said body and having a wall surface paralleling said cam edge, a membe" carried by the shiftable jaw body and engz ing said recess wall surface, said body arm h= ing a longitudinal therethrough and having the upper surface thereof provided with transversely extending teeth, a post carried'by the shank and extending through said slot and having a lateral extension upon its upper end arranged for engagement with said teeth, and spring means disposed beneath the body arm and normally lifting the same toward the lateral extension of said post.

CARL H. LEONARD. 

